Jagdeep Dhankhar arrives in Tehran to pay condolence on death of Iranian Prez Raisi in chopper crash
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Tehran, May 22: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar arrived here on Wednesday to attend an official ceremony to pay condolences on the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash.
Dhankhar, who is leading the Indian delegation, was received by the Iranian authorities on his arrival in Tehran.
"VP Dhankhar will attend the official ceremony to pay condolences on the demise of President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister H. Amir-Abdollahian, of Iran,” the vice president's office said in a post on X along with pictures of his arrival at the Tehran airport.
A one-day state mourning was observed across India on Tuesday as a mark of respect for Raisi.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have conveyed their condolences on the demise of Raisi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the embassy of Iran in New Delhi on Tuesday to convey India’s condolences on the loss.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over a funeral on Wednesday for the country's late president, foreign minister, and others killed in the crash. Thousands of people attended the funeral procession of the late president and his companions.
Several world leaders are in Tehran to attend the official funeral ceremony.
The Iranian president, the country's foreign minister, and several other officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region in the northwestern part of the country, Iran state media reported.
Raisi, 63, and his entourage were heading to Tabriz city after returning from a visit to a locality on the Azerbaijan-Iran border on Sunday.
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Probe into alleged irregularities in NEET-UG handed over to CBI: Education Ministry
New Delhi, Jun 23: The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
The development came amid a flurry of decisions over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, including the removal of National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Subodh Singh and setting up of a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan for exam reforms.
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractices have been reported in NEET-UG which was conducted on May 5.
"For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, it was decided after a review that the matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation," a senior Education Ministry official said.
The government is committed to ensuring the sanctity of examinations and protecting the interest of students, the official said, adding any individual and organisation found to be involved in irregularities will face the strictest action.
The examination was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates appeared. The results were expected to be declared on June 14 but were announced on June 4.
The allegations of irregularities have led to protests in several cities, litigation and sparring between rival political parties.
A fresh plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the CBI and the ED to investigate the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG.
The petition, filed by 10 students who had appeared for the exam, has also sought a direction to Bihar Police to expedite the investigation in the case and file a report before the apex court.
The top court had earlier sought responses from the Centre, the NTA and others on a slew of petitions, including those seeking scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored probe.
The apex court had also stayed further proceedings on similar pleas pending before different high courts.
As many as 67 students scored a perfect 720, unprecedented in the NTA's history, with six from a centre in Haryana's Faridabad figuring in the list, raising suspicions about irregularities.
There was also controversy over grace marks awarded to students to make up for the loss of time at six centres. The Centre later told the apex court that the grace marks are being scrapped and these students would be given an option of a retest.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will on Sunday conduct the retest for these 1,563 candidates.
The NEET-UG examination is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
Ministry of Education entrusts the matter of alleged irregularities in NEET (UG) Examination 2024 to CBI for the comprehensive investigation. pic.twitter.com/KO95a5a8nD
— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) June 22, 2024
